Public Policy
Public policy is the throughline of all my work. I research India’s state capacity puzzles, regulatory quality, competitive federalism, and the political economy of reform. My goal is to make policy frameworks accessible to students, practitioners, and curious readers.
Book
Missing in Action: Why You Should Care About Public Policy (Penguin India, 2023) is a primer on Indian public policy through stories, frameworks, and Bollywood references.
Frameworks
A plain-language collection of public policy frameworks and mental models for thinking about policy problems.
Talks & Slides
Indian Society as a Change Maker
Event: Manthan, Hyderabad
Date: September 2020
Democracy, Constitution, and National Power
Event: Army War College, Mhow
Date: March 2026
Why is the Indian State Like This Only?
Event: ClassRoom @ The Conversation Room, Kolkata
Date: July 2025
Selected Writings
114 pieces across blog posts, op-eds, and publications.
The Proposed Lok Sabha Seat ApportionmentâWhat Should the Southern States Really Demand?
Blog · Mar 10, 2026
Democracy, Constitution, and National Power
Blog · Apr 6, 2026
Opening the doors for Chinese investment again, with caution
Op-ed · Hindustan Times · Apr 2, 2026
Op-ed · Times of India · Apr 16, 2026
Public Policy and the Omniabsent State
Blog · Jan 2026
Blog · Dec 2025
After Bihar, the vote share vs seat share debate is back again. Here’s why this matters
Op-ed · The Print · Nov 2025
Geopolitics of Bengaluru’s Yellow Metro Line
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · with Tannmay Kumarr Baid · Sep 2025
Blog · Sep 2025
Rethinking Proportional Representation
Blog · Jul 2025
English is the MP3 Format of Scripts
Blog · Jul 2025
What TN case tells us about the need to ease Centre-state friction
Op-ed · Times of India · May 2025
India isn’t competing with China. It’s up against many city governments
Op-ed · The Print · Feb 2025
Policy tweaks can push private sector R&D
Op-ed · Deccan Herald · Dec 2024
Environmental Cooperation: An Imperative for Subcontinental Thinking
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · with Adya Madhavan, Nitin Pai, Anand Arni, Y. Nithiyanandam · Oct 2024
Perils of decentralisation with Chinese characteristics
Op-ed · The Hindu · Sep 2024
Karnataka at the 16th Finance Commission: Concerns, Prospects, and a Way Forward
Publication · Takshashila Publication · with Sarthak Pradhan · Sep 2024
Karnataka at the 16th Finance Commission: Concerns, Prospects, and a Way Forward
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · with Sarthak Pradhan · Sep 2024
India’s fiscal imbalance isn’t a North vs South problem. Here’s what lies at the ‘centre’ of it
Op-ed · The Print · Sep 2024
India’s Climb up the Innovation Ladder: Policy Enablers and Impediments
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · with Sarthak Pradhan · Aug 2024
Agnipath 2.0: A solution for armed forces and applicants
Op-ed · Indian Express · Jun 2024
Dr. Jagdish Chandra Asthana Could Have Been a Good Policy Analyst
Op-ed · Outlook · Jun 2024
A self-harming stance on digital trade tariffs
Op-ed · Hindustan Times · May 2024
Why resource distribution is creating a North-South divide
Op-ed · Times of India · Feb 2024
Republic Day reminder: Let’s reclaim the right to economic freedom
Op-ed · Times of India · Jan 2024
Pannun case: Time to reimagine spy agency for Information Age
Op-ed · Times of India · Dec 2023
Op-ed · Mint · Sep 2023
The Laptop Licence: Why are Failed Policies Being Revived Again?
Op-ed · Times of India · Aug 2023
Swades sans sacrifice: How to rethink IIT brain drain puzzle
Op-ed · Times of India · Jun 2023
The Case for a G20-Led Climate Change Relocation Insurance System
Publication · Think20 Policy Brief · May 2023
MEA needs more hands on deck quickly. It must consider surge hiring
Op-ed · Hindustan Times · May 2023
What the milk shortage saga tells us about letting government control prices
Op-ed · Times of India · Apr 2023
Publication · Takshashila Publication · Jan 2023
Why we shouldn’t copy-paste EU’s ‘one nation, one charger’ policy
Op-ed · Times of India · Dec 2022
An Open Tech Strategy for India
Publication · Takshashila Report · with Nitin Pai · Dec 2022
Book Chapter - Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of Indiaâs Defence Financing
Publication · Takshashila Publication · Nov 2022
Book Chapter - Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing
Publication · Takshashila Publication · Nov 2022
Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing
Publication · Book Chapter · Nov 2022
Why liquor reforms in India are so complicated
Op-ed · Times of India · Aug 2022
Takshashila Issue Brief - Killing of al-Zawahiri Raises More Questions than Provides Answers
Publication · Takshashila Publication · with Srikrishna Upadhyaya and Anand Arni · Aug 2022
Whatever happens with Agnipath scheme, it offers 3 real lessons for future reform
Op-ed · The Print · Jul 2022
Restarting the Post-Pandemic Indian Economy
Publication · Takshashila–Hudson Institute Blue Paper · Jul 2022
How the Defence Pension Bill became a Big Burden
Op-ed · Hindustan Times · Jun 2022
Rough Calculations on Agnipath’s Pension-Saving Potential show why the Change is Crucial
Op-ed · Times of India · Jun 2022
Now that Agnipath is here, it must be made to work
Op-ed · Mint · Jun 2022
Comments on NITI Aayog’s Draft Battery Swapping Policy
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Jun 2022
Harnessing Trade Policy to Build India’s Semiconductor Industry
Publication · Takshashila Publication · with Arjun Gargeyas · May 2022
Atmashakti Over Atmanirbharta: Learn Right Lessons from Russia Sanctions
Op-ed · Times of India · Mar 2022
Comments to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology (FY 2022-23)
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Feb 2022
Why the govt shouldn’t decide what you pay for an air ticket
Op-ed · Times of India · Aug 2021
Managed Reopening After Lockdown: Recommendations for State Governments
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Jun 2021
Blaming the government’s pandemic response? Do it for the right reasons
Op-ed · Times of India · May 2021
Comments to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology (FY 2021-22)
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Mar 2021
Making State Finance Commissions work
Op-ed · Deccan Herald · Feb 2021
House defence panel must ask 4 key questions — from lower expenditure to pension bill
Op-ed · The Print · Feb 2021
The world is changing. India needs to get its priorities right
Op-ed · Hindustan Times · Dec 2020
Managing India’s Defence Expenditure Requires a Whole-of-Government Approach
Op-ed · The Print · Nov 2020
A COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Strategy for India
Publication · IPPR Journal Article · Nov 2020
A COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Strategy for India
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Slide Doc · with Shambhavi Naik, Ameya Paleja, Mihir Mahajan, Narayan Ramachandran, Sunila Dixit, Rahul Matthan, and Nitin Pai · Sep 2020
Supplementing State Policing Capacity for COVID-19 Duties
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Sep 2020
COVID-19 Warrants Long Overdue Doctrinal Shifts in Military Planning
Publication · IPPR Journal Article · Sep 2020
National Security Preparedness & Planning for COVID-19
Publication · Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc · Jun 2020
India’s Bargaining Power with China and US will Grow in Post Covid World
Op-ed · The Print · May 2020
India in the Post COVID-19 World Order
Publication · Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc · May 2020
When Does a Crisis Become a Policy Opportunity?
Op-ed · Deccan Herald · Apr 2020
The Economics and Politics of Pakistan’s COVID-19 Response
Publication · Takshashila Strategic Assessment · Mar 2020
Is India’s rising defence pension bill affecting modernisation of military? 5 myths busted
Op-ed · The Print · Mar 2020
The Regressive Nature of Central Transfers for Health
Publication · Takshashila Working Paper · Dec 2019
The opinion of Western liberals or conservatives is inconsequential for the J&K situation
Op-ed · The Print · Oct 2019
Publication · Takshashila Publication · Sep 2019
A Human Capital Investment Model for India’s National Security System
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · Sep 2019
Finance Commission’s New Problem: A Separate Defence Fund
Op-ed · Deccan Herald · Aug 2019
Quality of Service Based Differential Pricing for Data Services
Publication · Takshashila Policy Advisory · Aug 2019
Op-ed · Patrika · Jun 2019
Equity sans reservations: Imagining alternate ways for affirmative action
Op-ed · Firstpost · May 2019
Focus on Voting Security Instead of Just EVM Security
Op-ed · Ozy · Apr 2019
India’s External Intelligence Agency: Managing the Human Resources Challenge
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · Jan 2019
We Live in Multiple Neighbourhoods
Op-ed · ThinkPragati · Jan 2019
Takshashila Working Paper - The Regressive Nature of Central Transfers for Health
Publication · Takshashila Working Paper 2018-03. · with Devika Kher, Pavan Srinath, and Aashish Chajjer · Dec 2018
Takshashila Discussion Document - Deriving India’s Strategies for a New World Order
Publication · Takshashila Publication · with Anupam Manur and Anirudh KanisettI · Jul 2018
A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Public Health Expenditure in India
Publication · Takshashila Working Paper · Jul 2018
Why the south-vs-north debate is a flawed way to analyse the 15th Finance Commission formula
Op-ed · The Print · Mar 2018
Discard the Emigration Clearance System
Op-ed · ThinkPragati · Jan 2018
Differentiating Unintended Consequences from Unanticipated Ones: A Policy Framework
Publication · Takshashila Working Paper · Dec 2017
Op-ed · ThinkPragati · Apr 2017
Trapped in a Municipal Mindset
Op-ed · ThinkPragati · Mar 2017
Individual Liberty vs Public Security in a Radically Networked Society
Publication · Book Chapter · Jan 2017
Beyond Distrust: How Should Citizens View Their Government?
Blog · Nov 2016
Love thy nation, watch thy government
Op-ed · The Hindu · Nov 2016
A South Asian Manifesto for the Next U.S. President
Op-ed · South Asian Voices (Stimson Center) · Nov 2016
Karnataka’s Changing Fiscal Landscape after the 14th Finance Commission
Publication · Economic and Political Weekly · Aug 2016
A Global Climate Change Relocation Insurance Framework
Publication · Takshashila Policy Brief · Dec 2015
The Eightfold Path to India’s Nuclear Fuel Supply Security
Publication · Takshashila Discussion Document · May 2015
Shivaji Asaa Hota — This Is Who Shivaji Was
Blog · Mar 2015
सामाजिक क्रांति और भारतीय संविधान: एक अद्वितीय प्रयोग
Blog · Feb 2015
Blog · Jan 2015
Blog · Jan 2015
Raising the Costs of Honking on Bangalore’s Roads
Blog · Oct 2014
Blog · Aug 2014
The lure of legalising bilateral disputes
Op-ed · Business Standard · Jul 2014
Errors of Omission and Commission: How VLSI Relates to Subsidies
Blog · Jul 2014
Blog · Jul 2014
Blog · Jun 2014
Blog · Jun 2014
Blog · Jun 2014
Blog · May 2014
Blog · Mar 2014
Profitability of Public Transport Systems
Blog · Feb 2014
Blog · Jan 2014
Of Brittle Sticks and Tasteless Carrots
Blog · Jan 2014
Blog · Oct 2013
The Furor Over the Modest Onion
Blog · Sep 2013